Let The Kids Run! [Infographic]

Kids just don’t play like they used to anymore. With their gameboxes and x-cubes and cell phones and rock n’ roll, what it means to be a kid has completely transformed. Between trying to keep up with homework, chicken nuggets, and who’s got what high score, playing outside gets shoved to the back burner. Now childhood obesity is catching up sparking an epidemic on America’s youth. But, to be fair, we really can’t blame the kids.

To find out why, we can take a look at No Child Left Behind. Many schools had to cut 50 minutes or more of recess every week just to keep up. Kids who do poorly in class or live under the poverty line see even less recess than their fellow classmates. Seeing just 15 minutes of recess, or none at all, isn’t unheard of and is constantly growing.

To add to all that, obesity itself has been on the rise. From 1980 to 2008, obesity in kids 6-11 grew from 6.5% to 19.6%. The average size of a sugar-based beverage was 13.6 ounces in the 1970s, but now it’s well over 20 ounces, and boy does it show.

For more, take a look at this infographic, and let us know what you think in the comments.

Brian Wallace is the Founder and President of NowSourcing, an industry leading infographic design agency , based in Louisville, KY and Cincinnati, OH which works with companies that range from startups to Fortune 500s. Brian also runs #LinkedInLocal events nationwide, hosts the Next Action Podcast, and has been named a Google Small Business Advisor for 2016-2018. Follow Brian Wallace on LinkedIn as well as Twitter.